Office Practices

Learn the basics in administration work and how an office works - start your career the right way, or improve the running of your own office. Get to know more about how businesses operate and best practice for business administration.

Contact or visit various stationery supplies to find out about what materials are available.

Write a report about how to design a filing system suitable for your area of work.

Inspect various offices to see how they are utilising space and storage.

Contact various suppliers of office furniture to see what furniture is available.

How Well Do You Handle a Phone Call?

Good office staff will not only know what to do, but handling the phone professionally and efficiently should be intuitive to them.

You need a whole range of skills to handle phones well.

The Office Practices course provides a little bit of everything you need to make yourself attractive and useful to an employer, or to improve the way your own office functions. Here are some tips to handling phone calls -

Keep a notepad and pen handy to jot down information.

Answer calls promptly, usually, on the third ring. Be sure to have the phone in position before you speak. If you speak too soon, the first part of your greeting can be lost, and the caller hears “…..speaking.”

Ask for, and use the client’s name, but not so much that you sound like a robot.

Actively listen for the person to tell you what they want. Be prepared to ask questions to get to the main point. For example: (listening, then) “Would you like to enrol in the course now, or do you want to know how to enrol in the future?”

Try to really understand the caller’s intended meaning. Give them your full attention.

Sound alert and interested. The best way to do this is to be alert and interested yourself. Another way is to vary your voice inflection, so that it doesn't sound monotone. You might need to practice.

Sound friendly and courteous. Smile – you can hear a smile – and use polite language. A friendly happy voice on the phone is a very great asset in any business.

Be cheerful and patient. Remember that if there is a problem the person is not annoyed at you, but at the problem, as they perceive it.

Be willing to help. If you can’t, tell the person that you will refer them to someone who can, and do it.

When referring them to another person, get their permission first, and give them the name and title of that person. Check to see that the call has gone through as planned. If there is a long delay, ask if the other person can phone them back.

Do not put a person on hold without their permission. The caller might be making a long-distance phone call, or calling from a mobile phone, or might not have time to wait. Ask, “May I put you on hold for a moment?” and wait for the answer.

If you can’t help the client right away, take their name and number and promise to phone them back. Give a time, rather than just saying, “I’ll call back later.”

Follow up. Do what you have promised, and do it promptly.

Repeat the main ideas of messages back to the person to ensure that you both have them correctly

At the end of the conversation, thank the customer for calling. If appropriate, end with a friendly close, such as "Hope to hear from you again soon", or “It was a pleasure to talk to you”. However, in more formal situations, a simple thank you is sufficient.

Keep the phone in position until you and they have finished speaking. If you try to hang up too soon, they might only get part of your exit, hearing something like, “Thanks f…….". It is good practice to terminate the call after the caller has put down their phone.

Immediately make any notes to help you remember what you have agreed to do, or who else must get the message. Do not rely on memory - messages can get confused or incoherent. The person to whom you are relaying a message is much more likely to respond quickly if it is clear why they are to return the call.

Why Study Here?

We know office work having run an office since 1979.

We nurture our students - while some schools are simply focused
on providing you with information, we are more interested in improving
your ability to use what you learn.

More access to tutors, better qualified tutors.

Start at any time.

Study where and when you want.

We provide options to allow you to continue studying towards a higher qualification once you have completed this course.

You can enrol now

Simply go to the "It's Easy to Enrol" section at the top of this page.

Need assistance?

Start Now!

Extensive international experience in business and finance. Chartered Accountant with 20 years experience in corporate and financial roles. David has a FCA, GAICD, B.Sc.Econ (Hons), Cert IV TAA.

Kate Gibson

Kate has 12 years experience as a marketing advisor and experience as a project manager. Kate has traveled and worked in a variety of locations including London, New Zealand and Australia. Kate has a B.Soc.Sc, Post-Grad. Dip. Org Behaviour (HR).

Denise Hodges

Promotions Manager for ABC retail, Fitness Programmer/Instructor, Small Business Owner, Marketing Coordinator (Laserpoint). Over 20 years varied experienced in business and marketing. More recently Denise studied naturopathy to share her passion for healt

Sarah Edwards

Over 15 years industry experience covering marketing, PR, administration, event management and training, both in private enterprise and government; in Australia and the UK.

Secure online payments

Find us on:

Phone 07 5562 1088

International +61 7 5562 1088

The information given is for general information and should not be regarded as advice in any matter. ACS Distance Education disclaims all and any liability in relation to any act or omission which is
done in reliance to the information provided in this web site. While every effort is made to ensure that we display correct information on our website, errors can occur. ACS Distance Education disclaims liability or responsibility for orders or complaints arising from such errors, including
(but not limited to): pricing, fees and course requirements. ACS Distance Education reserves the right
to decline orders arising from such errors.